Riding the “F1 new wave” in Las Vegas
Hey Grandad! It’s Instagrammable..
Drivers like Williams’s Alex Albon are reaching a new breed of fan
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Williams isn’t at Formula 1’s cutting edge performance-wise, but it is one of the most active teams in the United States. And not just because it has F1’s only American driver in Logan Sargeant.
It has a New York commercial office with more than 20 staff drawn from major US sports. Despite US TV numbers still being modest, with 1.3 million on average watching on ESPN last year and similar numbers in 2023, it’s Williams’s top market for merchandise sales, video watches and digital visits. As commercial director James Bower explains, Vegas is perfect for the ‘new wave fan’.
“There’s extreme interest around the Las Vegas Grand Prix,” says Bower. “All our major partners will be activating heavily and there’ll be a lot of exec[utive] attendance.
“What’s fascinating is if you look at F1 in the US, the growth is in this new wave of fans that has been following for less than five years. They’re very digital and social media-led, so any live experience that’s ‘Instagrammable’ and where there’s social currency, they’re really into.
“The Vegas Grand Prix will be the ultimate new wave fan race. It’s got incredible landmarks, it’s one of the most exciting cities in the world in terms of events, the nightclubs, the restaurants, the shows. This is the next level of engagement for these fans.”
This might sound distasteful for those devotees used to watching trackside at Silverstone or Spa, but this audience is key to Formula 1’s future. And Williams understands it can’t only cater for the big spenders.
“We recognise a lot of fans can’t go to the race because of cost,” says Bower. “So we provide fan pop-ups in city centre locations, and they are free. They get to see a driver, see our team principal [James Vowles] give a Q&A, they can race on simulators. We do that at several races throughout the season, like Piccadilly Circus for the British Grand Prix. And we’re doing one in Las Vegas.”
Instagrammable fan experiences… it’s best to just think of it as Mansell-mania for the 21st century. ES